Guru Nanak Dev (Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ ਦੇਵ, (Hindi: गुरु नानक Urdu: گرونانک Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469, Nankana Sahib, Punjab, (now Pakistan) - 22 September 1539, Kartarpur, Punjab, India), is the central figure in Sikhism, and named as the first of the ten Sikh Gurus.
Birth and early life
Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji was born 15 April 1469 into a Khatri family, in the village of Rai Bhoi Ki Talwandi, now called Nankana Sahib, near Lahore, Pakistan. Today, his birthplace is marked by Gurdwara Janam Asthan.
His father, Shri Kalidas Chandarana, later known as Kalyan Das Bedi, also known as Mehta Kalu, was the patwari (accountant) of crop revenue for the village of Talwandi under the Muslim landlord of the village, Rai Bular, who was responsible for collecting taxes. Guru Nanak's mother was Tripta Devi and he had one older sister, Nanaki.
Gurdwara Nankana SahibThe earliest biographical sources on the life of Guru Nanak recognised today are the Janamsākhīs' (lit. life-accounts) and the vārs (expounding verse) of the scribe Bhai Gurdas.
The most popular Janamsākhī are said to have been written by a close companion of the Guru' Bhai Bala' before Nanak died.[4] However, the writing style and language employed have left scholars such as Max Arthur Macauliffe certain that they were composed after his death.
Bhai Gurdas, purported scribe of the Gurū Granth, also wrote about Nanak's life in his vārs. Although these too were compiled some time after Guru Nanak's death, and are also less detailed than the Janamsākhīs, modern Sikh ideologues tend to hold them in higher regard.
The Janamsākhīs recount in minute detail the circumstances of the birth of the guru. They claim that at his birth an astrologer, who came to write his horoscope ,insisted on seeing the child. On seeing the infant, he is said to have worshipped him with clasped hands. The astrologer then remarked that he regretted that he should never live to see young Guru Nanak as an adult.[citation needed].
At the age of five years Nanak is said to have voiced interest in divine subjects. At age seven, his father, Mehta Kalu, enrolled him at the village school as per the norm. Notable lore recounts that as a child Nanak astonished his teacher by describing the implicit symbolism of the first letter of the alphabet, which is an almost straight stroke in Persian or Arabic, resembling the mathematical version of one, as denoting the unity or oneness of God. Other childhood accounts refer to strange and miraculous events about Nanak such as a poisonous cobra being seen to shield the sleeping child's head from the harsh sunlight.
Marriage and family life
Guru Nanak Dev Ji was married to Mata Sulakhni Ji. His marriage to her took place in the town of Batala. The marriage party had come from the town of Sultanpur Lodhi. He had two sons from this marriage; Sri Chand and Lakhmi Chand. The former was a deeply spiritual person and founded a renunciate/ascetic subsect known today as Udasis. The younger son grew up to become immersed in worldly life.
The bhakti movement
The Bhakti movement was an anti-establishment shift in the pysche of the native Indian people, mirrored by the Sufi movement amongst the Muslim population. Far from being an ideology, the tone was set by a number of remarkable religious personalities from all manner of backgrounds and religious dispositions whose teachings became known far and wide. The emphasis was on devotion over and above philosophy, and God over and above thought and circumstances.
Guru Nanak Dev Ji is understood outside of Sikhism mainly in this framwork. His near contemporaries in northern India were personalities like Kabir, Ravidas, and Naamdev. Yet one way in which Nanak stands out is his extensive travels throughout India and beyond.
However, Nanak is not viewed as a Bhagat by Sikhs; rather, these individuals exmply the uniqueness and astonishing nature of the devotes' state. To Sikhs Nanak is a manifestation whereby God was revealed, hence the title Guru. This explains his travel as stated in the previous paragraph. He moved from place to place in order to seek out the devoted, in answer to their religious yearning. As per the janamsakhis, Nanak mysteriously took up the religious form recognisable to different religious groups as he ventured into their different territories - amongst the Shivaites in the south he became like a Shivaite, amongst the Muslims in the west he seemed like a Muslim holyman.
Travels
For over twenty years beginning in about 1497, Guru Nanak traveled by foot throughout India. He traveled as far east as Assam and Burma. To the South he went as far as Sri Lanka (Ceylon). To the north he ventured even to places outside India like Tibet, China and Russia. He also went towards the west into Arabia and Persia, visiting Mecca, Medina and Baghdad, Turkey, Greece and further on.[9]
Last years
As his end approached Guru Nanak Dev Ji would frequently test the devotion of his sons and nearest followers and in doing so demonstrate their state of mind to one another. There were numerous such occasions and one particular devotee, Baba Lehna Ji, rose to eminence because he never faltered in his faith in Guru Ji.
Guru Nanak Dev Ji proclaimed Baba Lehna Ji as the successor Guru, renaming him Guru Angad Dev Ji, meaning 'one's very own' or 'part of you'. This successorhood wasn't a mere gesture. Via a transformation, compared in Sikh tradition as the passing of a flame from one candle to another, the Guru-aspect of Guru Nanak Dev Ji descended upon Guru Angad Dev Ji. Guru Angad Dev Ji became Guru Nanak. In Shri Guru Granth Sahib this is described as having even a physical manifestation whereby Angad in person suddenly appeared to look like Nanak.
(To Sikhs, although there were ten separate Gurus in physical form, there was actually only one single Guru whose metamorphosised light moved from one successor or vessel to the next, granting a kind of rebirth to those personalities on their initiation. Hence they all held the original name of 'Nanak'.)
Shortly after proclaiming Lehna as the next Guru, Nanak announced that the time of his death had arrived, and retreated to a tree whereby he sat in the lotus position and the praan (life-force) was guided upwards and outwards from his body. The date was said to be 22 September 1539 according to the western calendar.
